Project description

Regional Excellence Project on Regulatory Capacity Building in Nuclear and Radiological Safety, Emergency Preparedness and Response in Romania 

The objective of the “Regional Excellence Project on Regulatory Capacity Building in Nuclear and Radiological Safety, Emergency Preparedness and Response in Romania” is to improve the capabilities of Romania's nuclear regulatory authority (CNCAN) in eight specific functional areas of work, through the exchange of experience and good practices and through the strengthening of institutional capacity, with the support of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The "Regional Excellence Project on Regulatory Capacity Building in Nuclear and Radiological Safety, Emergency Preparedness and Response in Romania” for the period 2013-2016 is a logical continuation of the project carried out by CNCAN, NRPA and the IAEA during the previous Norway Grants cycle, in the period 2009-2011. Although all the planned results were achieved under the previous project, a series of IAEA-led review missions highlighted that further improvements are needed for CNCAN in order to strengthen its institutional capacity, with the aim of bringing the organization into line with the latest international standards.

The application for this project was prepared by the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control of Romania (CNCAN), together with the project partner organizations, NRPA and the IAEA.

The total budget of the project is EUR 4,215,098, of which 85% is allocated by Norway Grants and 15% is to be provided in cash through Romanian national co-financing. The main project partner is NRPA and the organizational partner is the IAEA.

All project activities will be organized within the IAEA extra-budgetary programme (EBP).

The effective implementation period of the project is 28 months, running from January 2014 to April 2016.

List of projects

The priority sectors of this cooperation programme include the following sub-projects:

• CNCAN 1-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of nuclear safety analyses;
• CNCAN 2-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities for the integrated management system and knowledge management;
• CNCAN 3-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of inspections;
• CNCAN 4-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of the safety and security of the transport and transit of radioactive and nuclear materials on the territory of Romania;
• CNCAN 5-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of emergency preparedness and response;
• CNCAN 6-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of ionizing radiation sources;
• CNCAN 7-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of the regulation of radioactive waste management, spent nuclear fuel management and decommissioning activities;
• CNCAN 8-Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of nuclear safeguards activities.

In the period 2010 – 2011, Romania hosted two important IAEA-led review missions - the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) and the Emergency Preparedness Review Service (EPREV). These missions were carried out in order to assess the effectiveness of the national regulatory infrastructure with regard to nuclear and radiological safety, radioactive waste management and transport, the safety and security of radioactive sources, as well as the national arrangements for emergency preparedness and response. The EPREV mission report highlighted a total of 48 intermediate / immediate recommendations and 18 long-term recommendations, while the IRRS mission report sets out 34 recommendations and 18 suggestions. Most of these recommendations and suggestions are applicable to CNCAN. The purpose of the project is to address a number of the recommendations of the IRRS and EPREV missions, as well as the recommendations of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and of the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA) that are relevant to CNCAN.

Some of the most important project activities relate to the development and updating of Romanian regulations in line with EU and IAEA standards and guides, as well as to the professional training of CNCAN staff using effective knowledge transfer methods, which will ensure the sustainability of the regulatory framework. These activities will improve CNCAN's regulatory capabilities in the areas of nuclear safety analyses, the integrated management system and knowledge management, the conduct of inspections, the safety and security of the transport and transit of radioactive and nuclear materials, emergency preparedness and response, the control of ionizing radiation sources, the regulation of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management, and the control of nuclear safeguards.

The main beneficiary and the target groups of the sub-projects are CNCAN and its employees, as well as the operators and holders of nuclear installations in Romania: Cernavodă NPP, the TRIGA and VVR-S research reactors, the operators and holders of radioactive waste predisposal facilities in Romania, the national organizations responsible for radiological emergency preparedness and response (alongside CNCAN), the users of ionizing radiation generators and sources in Romania, the organizations that carry out the guarding and transport of nuclear and radioactive materials on the territory of Romania or in transit through the territory of Romania, and the small users of nuclear materials in Romania.

The secondary beneficiaries are NRPA and its experts, the IAEA and the IAEA Member States.

During the implementation of the project, one of the main roles of NRPA will be to plan, organize and conduct emergency preparedness and response exercises in Romania involving the nuclear safety, radiation protection and consequence management components.

The sub-projects will serve as a platform for the exchange of experience and good practices between CNCAN, NRPA and the international nuclear community, through the active involvement of the IAEA.